CCEFP features high-efficiency excavator

A high efficiency excavator, one of four test beds being developed through the research program of the National Science Foundation-funded Engineering Research Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power (CCEFP), will be among the highlights at the Center’s IFPE Booth, S-13004.

The excavator is being developed at Purdue University under the direction of Professor Monika Ivantysynova.

The stock load sensing hydraulic system on a five-ton Bobcat 435 excavator was replaced with a displacement controlled hydraulic system. The new hydraulic system shows a 40% fuel savings, on average, in side-by-side testing with a standard machine of the same model.

With the new system architecture, all functions are controlled electronically, thereby allowing the use of advanced control strategies. A machine power management control strategy has been implemented in addition to the displacement control platform to minimize the fuel consumption of the machine according to the working cycle performed. The improved efficiency offered by displacement controlled technology has led to lower working temperatures for the hydraulic fluid which should lead to longer fluid life and less maintenance.

IFPE attendees can learn more at the booth and during presentations in the 52nd National Conference on Fluid Power (NCFP) on March 24.

Other CCEFP research will be featured at the booth and as a part of the Technical Conference, where more than forty of the Center’s faculty and students will present. The Center will also hold its 5th Annual Meeting in conjunction at IFPE on March 22.